


A Child's Playroom

by catdonut



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien has a brother, Aged-Up Character(s), Eventual reveal, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Gabriel isn't as cold lol, Identity Reveal, LadyNoir - Freeform, Minor Alya Césaire/Nino, SO MUCH FLUFF, adrienette - Freeform, good for him, i hope my way of ensuing comedy makes you laugh, what is it with me and these tags, yes gabriel agreste remarried
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-06-06 18:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6764527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catdonut/pseuds/catdonut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien can’t possibly take care of his half brother alone and Plagg’s suggestion kept running through his mind.</p><p>“Who’s that dark-haired girl with the pigtails again? Didn’t she used to babysit that one kid that turned to the Puppeteer?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got the confidence to post my own work. I'm so deep into this fandom I just had to write a fan fic, lol.  
> Also, I'm not very good so please bear with me. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Five years after being chosen as Chat Noir, one year since Hawk Moth’s defeat, three years since his father remarried, and the two heroes are still yet to give up their miraculous.

Adrien Agreste still clearly remembers the day he found Master Fu’s box sitting atop the small coffee table in the vast space that he once called his bedroom when he was fourteen. Now nineteen, his father had finally given him privilege to live on his own when he graduated from college at eighteen, and was now in his second year at university.

Modelling was less of a priority, the rules he had to follow were less tight, and he was finally able to hang out with anyone, although he still had to keep a keen eye on those who snuck in only for his fame and money, as which many people did. _We walk among greedy fools so you had better keep an eye on who you are befriending, is that understood_? His father had told him.

Of course, the taste of newly found independence felt good – no, it felt great, but he still cannot help but reminisce about the past. His first taste of freedom as Chat Noir, his first day at lycee, the battle with akumas, and oh God, he could never forget Ladybug – _his_ Ladybug, whom he managed to catch on their fourth year together. Yes, they are dating despite not knowing each other’s identities.  

As he was about to hark back to their previous adventures, the loud cry of his little brother pulled him back to reality, the grin he did not remember pulling fell down in an instant.

He hoisted the three-year old on his arms and the boy immediately stopped his blubber, eyes still glassy from tears. “Is there something wrong, Liam?” he crooned in a soft voice, wiping the boy’s cheeks dry with the soft pad of his left thumb.

“I want you to play with me, big brother!” the three-year old stubbornly demanded with a pout on his lips, thin brows knitted together.  

Adrien looked at the large volumes and notebooks that spread across his desk and heaved a sigh. Tears threatened to spill from Liam’s eyes as he looked at his older brother, still pouting. Adrien internally groaned and heaved yet another deep sigh as he put down his little brother and crouched down to reach Liam’s level. He pinched the boy’s cheeks and said, “Okay.” 

 

☂☂☂

 

“ _Adrien, you have a new brother_.”  

‘Caring’ and ‘lovable’ were two of the many words that people never associated with Gabriel Agreste, which is why Adrien had contemplated a million times what could have possessed his father to make it possible for him to fall in love for the second time, and on top of that, he has a new son! 

Gabriel Agreste, with his cold and icy demeanor who treats his son like his own employee, has fallen in love with a woman and she has conceived his child.

What bewildered fifteen-year old Adrien the most was the fact that his father was actually happy with the news and announced it to his son with a large grin formed in his lips that was usually seen pressed in a thin line. Apparently, Clarise Moreau is just _that_ special. Clarise was just as beautiful as his mother, a gorgeous brunette with blue eyes and features to die for. Still, Adrien could not grasp the idea that his father had fallen in love, again, when he was just as stoic and heartless a few months back, even when he was secretly dating the woman. Or perhaps that was just to him?

‘Was I not enough for him to change?’ Adrien once thought. But then again, his father never actually showed any endearing emotions. Love was one emotion that was pushed to the back of his chest and was locked up with many different memories, memories Gabriel refused to look back on. And so, Adrien dismissed this thought and just...let the old man be happy for once. 

He knew his father had given up on his mother since so long ago, though the man never admitted it. Years passed by without a single trace of the blonde beauty and Gabriel had decided that it was time to lock things up for good. He threw the chest of memories to the ocean and let it sink to the bottom along with the memory of her. And now that he has found new love, Adrien couldn’t help but go along with it. Clarise was just as nice, but his own mother was, like to any other child of course, better.

When they married when Adrien was fifteen-years old and a half, four-months-pregnant Clarise had moved in the mansion and Gabriel immediately hired a few more maids to help take care of her. Soon after, William Agreste was born. Of course, Adrien had to move out at eighteen, and his ties with the mansion and his father’s rules had loosened up, but he had not expected his father to ask him to babysit his little brother on a random anniversary day

 

☂☂☂

 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was furious, furious because a free weekend from university and her internship was not supposed to be this boring. She had the kind of ennui from having too much time in her hands and having too little will to find something productive to do.

The movie she had been watching was three hours of tedium and she wasn’t able to finish even halfway through before she got bored and decided to bail it. She didn’t feel like drawing nor sewing because everything she drew ended up with either sloppy lines or designs that didn’t add up to her standards or expectations. You could say she was lacking motivation today (or inspiration for that matter). Going out was out of the question since she had no reason to do so, and shopping felt like a tire.  

“Homework? Wait, I don’t even have any homework. I did all those last night.”

The girl could clearly remember everything she had thought about the past night for the next day as she was getting to bed. Tiny plans of things she had wanted to do, which she had no will to do now, marathon on some movies, read a book, finish sewing that one design, and many other activities she had planned but now resented doing. It felt like as though if she had risen up from her seat and actually did something she’d faint from a mere three seconds of activity. In other words, she was having a lazy day.     

Poor Marinette slouched down and banged her head on the desk before her, feeling distraught over her lack of work.

In retrospect, work was, however, different from having fun. Work was no fun, and she wanted to have fun. She then decided that she would not do anything that involved working. But how was having fun possible when she had no will to do anything?

“How about cleaning up?” Tikki suggests, flying out of the kitchen with a cookie in hand.

Marinette looks up with knitted brows. “Didn’t I already clean up two days ago?”

Tikki shrugs. “Doesn’t seem like two days ago.”

Marinette tears her gaze away from her kwami and to her living room. The pillows that were supposed to be on the couch were on somewhere on the floor, different kinds of cloth sprawled all over one side of the floor (mainly where her sewing kit sat), the volleyball on the coffee table rolled and hit the mug (which of course also ended up on the floor in a billion pieces). And, well, a lot more things on the used-to-be-neatly-carpeted floor that Marinette couldn’t see from her where she sat.

She could only imagine what her own room looked like. And she didn’t even care to notice when she had woken up.

Her eye twitches from disbelief at how fast she had ruined her apartment in just two days. And to think that she and her kwami, who is a really tiny god/dess, are the only occupants of the whole flat. Marinette’s forehead returns to the desk with a thud. “I’ll clean that up when I get home tomorrow or maybe later if I feel like cleaning.”

Tikki hums. “Advance study?”

“Already done.”  

“Call Alya and hang out?” The kwami suggested as she sat on top of the desk beside her chosen’s head.

Marinette looked up with knitted brows and scanned the room as though she had found out the secrets of the universe, but she was actually considering that Tikki’s idea with Alya.

The desk is suddenly a magnetic force as her forehead kept returning to the wooden object every time her head decided to part ways with it. The loud thud of course, was always there. Marinette did not care.

“She’s busy.”

“Uh...well... How about we go for a run?”

Marinette’s head quirks up and she wore a large grin. Suddenly remembering the breeze of the cold Parisian winter, there was freedom – liberty. She could run on the rooftops, swing on high buildings, and stand above her darling city on the Eiffel tower. The city is incredibly gorgeous from high points, too.

“Great idea! How could I not have thought of that sooner?”

“So do you want to go right now or-“ Tikki was cut off by the sound of Marinette's ringtone.

_Cause the world might do me in_

_It's alright 'cause I'm with friends_

_Cause I'm giving up again_

_It doesn't matter_

Marinette fishes her phone from her pocket. “Oh, uhm, let me just take this call and after that we’ll go for a run, okay?”

The ladybug kwami nods and gives her a smile.

Marinette paces to the kitchen and looks at the caller ID. In a second, her brows were knitted together once more and her cheeks rose up from a grin.

Don’t get her wrong, no longer was she the fourteen-year old girl that blushed and stuttered when her crush was around. She had gotten over Adrien when she was seventeen, and she loves Chat Noir now, whoever he is behind that mask. Plus, they’re dating. Well, at least Ladybug is, but Marinette **is** Ladybug, but that’s not the point.

She and the blond don’t meet up often, only when Alya and Nino are making plans to hang out or when they unexpectedly run into each other someplace, so there was no reason that Marinette could think of for him to call her.

“What could Adrien be calling me for?”  She pressed ‘call’.

“Yo, Adrien?” 

“Uh, h-hi Marinette? Uhm... How are you?”

Everything was suddenly awkward and it had been only ten seconds. “I’m great?” she replied, though it came out more as a question. “You?”

“Same, same. Erm.” 

Somehow, Adrien was more awkward than she was at phone calls.

“Uh... So, what are you calling me for? Can I help you with something?”

“Oh, yes, yes. Are you busy right now?” 

Marinette’s eyes lit up at the thought that Adrien would be asking her for something. _A date?_   She shook her head. _You’re taken, dumb butt_. She wasn’t even supposed to be having these thoughts. “Not really. In fact, I’ve got nothing to do so, I am pretty much likely going to help you with whatever you need help it.”

She heard him heave a sigh of relief from the other side. “Thank you! You’re the only one I know who’s great with kids and... I’ve got tests to study for and my little brother is, well...”

 _Little brother?_   Then she remembered Adrien had told them about his brother a few times before, though they’ve only seen Liam in the pictures his big brother would show them. The boy was incredibly adorable even from just his pictures, with a face just like his brother’s, only that the boy had dirty-blonde hair and blue eyes. “Ah, Liam, how is he?”

“He’s quite a handful,” he paused for a chuckle. “I know you’re getting what I’m trying to say here, but it would be completely okay if you decline, it’s not like I’m desperately in need so-“

“Sure.”

She could feel him trail off. “What?” he said after three seconds.

“I’ve been asking the heavens for something to do and your timing was impeccable; I’ll be glad to help you,” she said with a smile, and then realized he wasn’t actually there to see it.

A faint ‘yes!’ was heard from the other side of the call and Marinette couldn’t help but snicker at Adrien’s relief.

“Thank you so much! It won’t be long, I promise! And uh... be here at any time you can?”  

A thought popped into her head that Adrien now lived in an apartment and his half brother resides in the mansion. She made a guess. “Agreste mansion, right? I’ll be there in thirty minutes.” 

“Yes, and thank you again. I’ll see you in thirty,” and with that, he hung up.

She spent a few seconds staring at an invisible point in the kitchen before darting at the cabinet above the sink and immediately started filling the glass with water. She downed the glass empty in four easy gulps. She glanced at the clock. _3:26 pm_

“Tikki!” she called, “Change of plans, we’re going babysitting,” and completely forgot about the broken mug.  

 

☂☂☂

 

Adrien had no choice. Liam was running around and hiding from him and he can’t keep up with the three-year old _. A nineteen-year old can’t keep up with a three-year old._ How embarrassing is that?

“Who’s that dark-haired girl with the pigtails again? Didn’t she used to babysit that one kid that turned to the Puppeteer?”

Plagg’s words kept running through Adrien’s head. The kwami was now somewhere in the kitchen. Yes, Marinette used to babysit part-time. Yes, Adrien was a horrible babysitter. Also, Marinette stopped wearing her hair in pigtails since she started Senior High. And no, Adrien did not want to bother her despite having a hard time on his own.

That didn’t mean he didn’t want to try asking.

Adrien started the phone call with an awkward greeting. The whole phone call was awkward. Adrien smacked himself at how he can talk so business-like around simple acquaintances in phone calls but he managed to stutter and slur on his words when it was Marinette. _We don’t talk much_.

To Adrien’s luck, the girl was completely free and was okay to give a helping hand. 

The boy was a ball of adrenaline. Marinette could easily handle kids, and Adrien just had to call for help. He had not expected the girl to accept, though. They weren’t really that close, but knowing Marinette, she’d probably help anyone who asked for a hand, even strangers.  

Adrien let his eyes wander around his room. Although he’s moved in an apartment, Gabriel had insisted keeping the room for his son (the one currently attending university, just so you know) if he ever decides to come for a visit.

The cavernous room was even more cavernous with the absence of some of his things, such as the rock-climbing station, arcade stations, fencing banners, and some of the other things he can’t possibly use as an adult had been donated to charity to his request. Gabriel, for some unknown reason, had complied to his son’s wishes anyway.    Everything else, such as the library, multi-screen computer system, and the fencing trophies were some of which he decided to keep.

In general, his room looked more or less plain, just how he liked it.

“Liam? Where are you? Ladybug and Chat Noir need your help in defeating the monster!” 

It was absolutely hard to play around when you’ve got no experience with kids, moreover experienced even playing with one. Fortunately, for the tall blond, magic actually existed.  

Adrien was walking crouched down, bended knees as he scanned through the contents of his room where his brother was hiding in somewhere. His legs were ready to give out at any second, but he had to play along, so he’ll play along.

He heard the treading of small footsteps and the sound of the sliding door to his (also) very large bathroom being closed. _Gotcha_. The tall blond tiptoed his way to the door and slowly slid the door open before fully opening it and shouted, “Aha!”

Nothing.

He stepped into the room and searched every square inch.

Still nothing. 

Liam’s laughter echoed through the whole bedroom, the sound of him running on the carpeted floor gave Adrien a hint as to where he was going. The door closed with a loud thud.

The tall blond sighed once more and glanced at his desk, the volumes and notebooks remained untouched since they had been scattered on the space. His hands made their way to his hair and pulled at the roots. “God, how long can I keep this up?” Don’t get him wrong, he loves the little sprout, but the boy had gotten more notorious as he aged. Adrien had no choice but to understand; he knows he had been the same as a child.

“Ahh shit,” he muttered as he ran his hands through his (very handsome) face and walked out the room.

His eyes darted to his watch. 3:42 pm. Marinette would be here in less than five minutes. _Thank the heavens for Marinette._

The doorbell rang, the sound of it echoing throughout the mansion. Adrien froze in his place in the hallway. She's early.

The small voice of his halfbrother was heard from downstairs. “Big brother, a strange pretty lady is looking for you!” 

Adrenaline ran through his system at the mere thought that she was there. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha, told you guys I'm not very good. Also, WHY DOES IT FEEL SO SHORT TO ME. 
> 
> If you'e deciding to stick with this (very short) story, next part will be longer, probably.  
> Mari's ringtone is Ghost by Mystery Skulls. You guys gotta listen, lol. 
> 
> Apologies for any mistakes~


	2. Second

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette has arrived at the mansion. Adrenaline rushed through his system at the mere though that she was there.
> 
> You could say that he's a ball of... adrienaline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm overwhelmed by the positive response so far and I can't believe people actually liked this. I hate myself for making you all wait and then tipping you with a lazily-written chapter. I was supposed to post this three days ago, but guess who got lazy. 
> 
> Sorry for the wait, but I hope you enjoy this next part (which is longer than the last).

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was of course expecting the intercom. What she didn’t expect was that it wasn’t Nathalie that answered and asked for her identification.       She knew it wasn’t Nathalie. The female voice that answered wasn’t familiar at all.

“Oh, I-I’m a friend of Adrien? He needed help with something and told me to come.”

There was a moment of silence as though the Gabriel’s new assistant was examining her from head to toe from the camera. Marinette dressed as neatly simple as she could but she consciously withered anyway.

The woman on the other side spoke, “Okay, come in.” It had been short, but stern. The girl flinched under the woman’s austere tone.

“Thank you?”

A lot of things and assumptions flew to her mind the moment she was allowed to step foot past the incredibly high gates of the Agreste manor. Maybe the previous assistant quit? Perhaps she was on vacation or on a temporary leave?

She didn’t know Nathalie very well, but she did know that it was the woman that passed her scarf for Adrien as a birthday gift from his father. How did Marinette find out, you ask? Well, she may _or_ may not have watched the secretary as Ladybug from a window in her office on Adrien’s 15th birthday the following year.

That was when she found out Gabriel doesn’t even choose his own son’s birthday gift. She remembers muttering ‘douche’ under her breath, then taking it back at the thought that at least he tried getting his son a birthday gift. _Semi-douche_?

Maybe Gabriel found her out and fired her?

Well, no matter what the reason was, it wasn’t really her business to meddle.

Marinette stopped on her tracks. She was there; she was in front of the altitudinous double doors of the well-known manse.

Now, all she had to do was either knock, wait for someone to open the door or just enter on her own. Technically, she wouldn’t be trespassing if she chose the latter, but it felt like she would be, nevertheless. With a house this big, simply stepping foot felt like sneaking in.  

She took a deep breath and decided she would open the door, peek her head in, and knock on the interior side of the door.  

Except of course that was not what she did. She opened the door, walked in, and slowly said “Hello?”

Nothing.

“Hello?” Marinette said once more, louder this time as she drawled the ‘o’.

Now, it wasn’t simply air that greeted her, but a giggling squeaky boy’s voice that eventually gotten louder as it got closer to the foyer and tiny sounds of tiny feet running through the halls.

Marinette couldn’t help but grin at how adorable it sounded, she knew who it was.     

The giggles got louder, and loudly closer, until it felt as though she was in the same room as the sound. It stopped along with the tiny footsteps, and then Liam Agreste was there at the head of the grand staircase.

Her smile morphed into a ‘o’, and a second later her jaw was practically hanging from her skull. Yes, she noticed the resemblance between the boy and his brother from his photos, but in flesh, it was so...uncanny.

Liam was just as shocked as she was, although he was more curious than shocked; _who is she and why is she in my house?_  He slowly walked down the steps, so short that the boy had to step one foot after another on each platform as he held onto the railings.

The whole act was so adorable to look at that Marinette watched every second until he finally stepped onto the marble flooring of the foyer. Blue eyes locked with another pair of blue as Marinette stepped closer to the boy. He remained in his place.

Once she was in front of him, she crouched down to his level and offered a toothless smile.   

The resemblance was now undeniable. Nearer, she saw the same button nose, light skin, rosy cheeks, and the soft, gentle eyes. Of course, the only difference was that Adrien had blonde hair and bright green eyes, and Liam had dirty blonde and a dark pair of blue eyes.

It was then that she confirmed that _holy hell, the Agreste family line has incredibly good genes, and Clarise Moreau is a former model; of course she’d have a good-looking son._

The dating scandal had been so unexpected it was controversial among netizens and citizens alike. Everyone saw how stoic and cold Gabriel Agreste was, and then they find out that he’s been secretly dating Clarise and not even his son knew. Maybe he just doesn’t like sharing his personal life? Nevertheless, he was still a human, and he fell in love.

Any signs of little William Agreste in the internet and news articles, however, were very few to none. Marinette remembers reading an article of Clarise stating that she wanted the boy to grow up with a life as normal as possible in contrast to his family background, though he’d probably get more attention as he ages. And he definitely will because he is **going to be gorgeous**.

One sentence popped into her mind: This boy is going to grow into a **_very_** **fine** young man just like his half brother.

Now all she had to do was ask Adrien for his pictures as a toddler.

The boy was looking at her with large eyes, cheeks so chubby she had to fight the urge to pinch them. Marinette had been watching pink, plump lips curl as the boy said the words. “Who are you?”

Marinette’s grin stretched upward and showed a straight line of pearly-whites. “I’m a friend of your big brother, Adrien. Do you know where he is?” She asked softly.  

Liam’s lips curled into an ‘o’ as he spoke. “Oh,” he drawled. “I don’t weally know where he is, but do you know who I am?”

She assumed ‘weally’ was ‘really’. “Yes, I know you. You’re Liam Agreste!” She exclaimed, every syllable spoken in a playful tone to match his own joyous timbre.

“Yesh! You know me! ” He was practically jumping from excitement. Marinette didn’t fail to notice the glimmer in his eyes and his cheeks rose up from a widening smile. The boy was so adorable her breath was caught in her throat.

“Big brother, a strange pretty lady is looking for you!” Liam shouted, the sound echoing through the halls of the mansion.

Adrien heard that, didn’t he? Of course Adrien had heard it, wherever he was.

Now her breath was literally caught in her throat, her heartbeat was skyrocketing, her muscles tensed, and her smile faltered. She wasn’t supposed to be feeling nervous, but if you weren’t close to a person and they suddenly asked you to babysit their brother, wouldn’t you be nervous? Plus the fact that this dude is a high-profile model and is the son of your lifetime idol (okay, not really much of an idol since realizing how much of a douche Gabriel is), _but this is also your friend of five years, get the hell over it, butthead_ , her inner voice spoke.  

Everyone knew Adrien wasn’t judgmental; the dude’s practically a puppy.

Nino once said, “If he saw you trip down the stairs, he wouldn’t think you’re a klutz; he’d blame himself for looking.” To which both her and Alya agreed on.

One part of her says that she’s taken and she should just laugh at past her that was obsessed with Adrien Agreste. But then again, this is the dude Marinette stuttered and slurred on her words for, tripped over and accidentally confessed her love in multiple ways a hundred times, and called him “sexy” that one time in front of him (Marinette does not want to remember that one time, she did anyway).

A flashback suddenly rewinded in her head.

It had been a lunch break that day. Marinette bumped into Adrien, the blond beauty (you know he’s pretty) gave a ‘hello’, and suddenly Marinette was like, “Oh, hi, h-handsome -- wait, n-no! I m-meant s-sexy! Yeah, sexy! Wait, did I just call you sexy? I-I meant I needtogototherestroom! Gottagobye!”

Marinette felt her cheeks warm up, her heartbeat increasingly fast, and her brain was looking for a diversion. It was that one moment in 11th Grade that haunted her nights ‘til this day. _Why am I feeling this way?_

No, it’s not that the feelings she once had for Adrien remained, but because of the way she once acted when he was around.

 

☂☂☂

 

He walked through the halls in long, jittery strides as adrenaline rushed through his system. He felt...jumpy. Nervous? Perhaps. Adrien had no idea why. Moreover, is there even an actual reason?

Sure, he admits he once had a crush on Marinette (which he never told anyone, not even Nino) in 12th grade, but that lasted for about two months before it faded. Those two months were absolute hell for him. He had been so sure he only loved Ladybug! Trying to juggle out your feelings between two different people and desperately trying not to fall deeper into the other one is...well, difficult.

The infatuation stopped short as it was blown away by the wind the moment they graduated Highschool. Adrien had no idea how and why, but that made him so sure that it will always be Ladybug, and until now that they're officially dating. _The media doesn't know that_.

He could say the girl went through a lot around him. From severe stuttering, then being able to hold a conversation, to finally acting like he was just a normal human being. Although he was an innocent puppy, Adrien wasn't an idiot; he knew when a girl has a crush on him. Plus, Nino had slipped on it once, thus giving him a confirmation. Despite the Marinette's actions toward him, however, he couldn't judge her one bit because _she's hella adorable_.

But still, a mere past crush and the very obvious fangirling couldn't have been why he felt so jumpy. He tucked it all away in the past as a memorable part of his youth; nothing to be nervous about.

"Everything is completely platonic, but why do I feel like I'm cheating?" he asked no one in particular as he walked.

Don't want to get embarrassed by an old classmate? “Wait, no, Marinette's too kind for that.” Do you feel awkward about the past? “Nah.” Are you afraid that your half brother might cause trouble? “....Perhaps?”

It was a mental battle between his mental voice and him. He had been thinking so deeply he didn't even notice he was at the door.

His fingers trembled against the brass knob, carefully twisting the object and pulling the door open. He stepped out and closed it gently. He could see the two from where he stood, from the second level of the main foyer.

The blond couldn't hear what they were talking about, but Liam seems to be enjoying Marinette's company, seeing the large grin on his face never faltering. The bluenette, still crouched down to the boy's level, entertained the boy's every word in return. Adrien couldn't help but smile.

He continued his little journey, eyes still on the two as he walked. He reached the bottom of the right wing unnoticed, and stepped onto the head of the grand staircase, still unnoticed. It was only when he was three steps down when Marinette noticed him, bright blue-bell eyes meeting electric-green. His index finger immediately went to his pouted lips as if to say 'shh'. She got the message, smiled, and returned her attention to Liam.

“...And that’s how I defweated the bad guys!” Liam enthusiastically said as he made fighting poses, oblivious to the tall blond sneaking behind him.

Marinette chuckled. “You seem like a good superhero.”

Adrien slowly slid behind the boy as he thumped his chest with a fist at the compliment. “I’m the best of them all! Yestuday I helped Lad-YAAAAAAAH!”

Adrien tightened his grip on Liam’s underarms, hoisting the boy as high as his arms can manage. His eyes squinted in discomfort. _When did he get this heavy?_   He chuckled from behind him. The nineteen-year old loses yet again to the three-year old.

Marinette rose from her crouched position and eyes the two brothers comically, her own grin displayed on her lips.

“Put me down, big brother! I know it’s you!” Liam kicked and punched the air, his tiny fists striked behind him as he tried to hit Adrien. He almost succeeded.

The blond walked in circles, spinning a little as he went. “This isn’t your brother! I am...uh, the Hangman and I will hang – no, put you at the top of the Eiffel Tower!” Because **hang** ing a child on the top of the Eiffel Tower does not sound right.

“Arrgh! Put me dooown! Marina, help me!” The boy continued to squirm. Marinette chuckled at the misunderstanding of her name. 

Adrien was starting to give out, arms cramping and elevating south. This proximity gave Liam a chance to kick his big brother on the chest. _And so he did_.

The blond let out a choked noise. “Oh, fu-iretruck.” He eased his arms down quickly and Liam was on the floor, a hand flew to his chest where he had been hit. He bent down a little, his left hand held onto his left knee to support his weight.

Marinette walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder in concern. “Are you okay? How much does it hurt?”

Adrien straightened up, keeping his cool. “It’s cool, I’m fine.” He smiled at the girl before turning his gaze on the little boy, forehead creased. “And you, young man, are grounded.”

The little boy blinked twice. “What’s gwounded?”

Adrien suppressed a slight chuckle. “Nothing, I’m joking.” He glanced at Marinette who gave him an awkward smile. He crouched down to Liam’s level. “Hey, sprout. This lovely lady here is a friend of mine. Her name’s-“

“I know her! She’s Ma...Marin...” Liam trailed off, forgetting the name of the bluenette.  

“Marinette, she’s going to be babysitting you for the rest of the day, right, Mari?” He looked at her and offered a toothless smile.

He caught himself before he could stare. _Adrien, you’re taken, shithead_ , he mentally scolded himself.

She returned his smile with one her own, heart-warming, tantalizing and so...familiar? It’s not the Marinette’s-smile familiar, but the one that gave you a feeling that it belonged to someone else.

“Yup!” she said with a nod.

 

☂☂☂

 

Adrien had lead them to Liam’s playroom around the left wing once the little introduction ended and left once he gave some rules for Liam, which were mostly comprised of regulations telling the boy to behave.    

The playroom, just like any other room in the mansion of course, was incredibly cavernous.

Marinette scanned her eyes through the space in awe and compared it to the size of Adrien’s old room. Perhaps this was even bigger. She knew hadn’t been here before. It was decorated like an outdoor playground, with a plastic swing set, a slide, and there was a medium bookshelf on the corner, probably filled with children’s books. Thick, large puzzle mats carpeted the floor, and the walls were painted like a jungle. There were many more things which she decided not to notice.

The little boy charged to a large toy chest on one side of the vast space, Marinette trailing behind as he rummaged through the many toys and decided what he would like to play with.

“Wow, Liam, you have so many toys!” Marinette exclaimed playfully.

Liam nodded, not sparing Marinette any glance as he made his way through the pile of toys to find his favorite ones. "Papa and maman gave them to me," he said.

Marinette hummed in response and watched him place some action figures on the carpeted floor. Two of the toys were familiar, too familiar it put a smile on her face. It had reminded her of Manon when they used to play with Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls along with the dolls of akumatized villains, all made by Marinette.

 "You have Ladybug and Chat Noir action figures?" She could've sworn this boy's father disliked the superheroes.

 "Yes!" Liam jumped in delight, the left open and toys scattered where he had left them. "Big brother gave them to me. He said he can't play with toys anymow so he gave me a bunch of 'em!" he exclaimed, hands flailing in the air as if sizing how much toys Adrien had given him.

The bluenette couldn't help but feel jumpy; the good kind when you're feeling extreme happiness and you can't stay in place. She took the action figure of Ladybug and playfully said, "Oh no! A bad guy stole from the bank ! What should Ladybug do?

Liam giggled and took an action figure of an unfamiliar character. "Mwahaha! You will nevu catch me!"

"Oh yes, I will!" Marinette said acting as Ladybug.

"Not if I'm fastuh than you!" The boy rose from where he sat and ran as fast as his tiny legs can go, soaring the action figure in the air as though it was flying.

She took the Chat Noir action figure and tried to make her voice as manly as it can sound. "Fear not, my Lady! We will catch the thief together!" And with that, she stood up and chased the little boy, running in circles across the cavernous playroom.

Her long adult legs compared to his short, developing ones gave her a head start. One step to her is like three to the boy. Truthfully, she should've caught the boy a few seconds after she started running, but commandment #3 on babysitting is 'never let the child lose' because nobody likes to deal with crying children. And so, she chased down the boy with small, short paces.

They wound up on both sides of the swing, eyefully watching each other for his/her next move. Then Liam ran around the sandbox, Marinette followed after.

"I am too strong to be defweated!"

Laughter and small giggles filled the whole room as they continued to chase each other. Liam climbed up the ladder and went down the 4 feet slide.

Marinette's first instinct was follow him through the slide, and so she did. "We’ll catch you!" She, however, immediately regretted her decision as she was fucking stuck on the tiny slide. 'Oh my god, I take that back.'

Liam laughed louder as he looked at her desperately trying to unstuck herself. He put a hand next to his ear, bobbed his head side to side and said as though he had been proclaimed the winner, "Bleh bleh bubleh bleh! Mwahahahaha!" And with that, he was out of the room, his giggles echoed and faded.

Only then when he left the room was she able to unstuck herself from the slide, the force of it sending her face flat onto the carpet floor. She let out a frustrated growl as she steadied herself with both hands, then fully rose up to her full height. She scratched her nape, Liam’s laugh echoing throughout the mansion once more. Marinette heaved a deep sigh. “Guess I gotta go run after him now.” With that, she walked out the room and went to search for the boy, action figures still in hand and she internally wondered what could Adrien be doing at the moment.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, sorry again for the lazily-written chapter. 
> 
> That pun at the chapter summary, HAHAHAHA. I just had to. 
> 
> Let me know if there are any mistakes, huehue.


	3. Third

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam is an adorable fluff ball and Ladynoir makes an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how long this chapter was when I finished it. I edited and revised and revised and edited and... Okay, I have no idea if it turned out well, lol.

Walking through unfamiliar hallways in search for a three-year old boy has never been so tiring. Not that Marinette has ever done this before. None of the houses she used to babysit in came even remotely close to how large this mansion is. In fact, in all of the rooms she has been in for the past half hour, all of them sized a bit larger than her whole apartment. If Marinette were to be honest, she would admit being a bit envious of Adrien’s privileged upbringing if not for his father being a (half-assed apologies from Marinette) cold-hearted douche.   

She wondered how long a game of hide-n-seek would take in this house. 

Pulling back from her thoughts, she scanned the room she had wandered in, vast and cavernous just like any other part of the house, though it was unfamiliar. The white grand piano that stood in the middle, however, gave her an idea as to what the room was. “I’m starting to think this house has an indoor gym, too.”

She drunk in the immaculate white of the walls in contrast to the velvet curtains that draped over the large windows. Basic travertine tiles, Corinthian marble columns on the four corners of the room, and the other instruments were tucked inside their respective cases in one side of the room.

Marinette heaved a deep sigh as she closed the door, only to go back on her little journey in search for Liam, action figures still in hand.

She felt a small fiddle in her purse, Tikki’s head popping up the moment she opened the small bag. Marinette mentally slapped herself -- she was so occupied with the boy she almost forgot about the little kwami. “Slept well?”

Tikki nodded. “How’s the boy?”

“A handful,” she said, a small smile on her lips. She eyed the contents of her purse and captured the sight of a small bag of cookies she was supposed to give to Liam, but had forgotten about. Marinette took the bag, a red ribbon tied around it to keep it concealed.

The first word that popped into her head was ‘bait’, and she internally laughed at the idea of reeling Liam in with cookies. She contemplated for a moment whether to device the plan or not, but decided she’d give it later on and tucked it back into her purse where it belonged.

Her ears perked up at the faint treading of small footsteps, running across the halls. Came a sound of continuous knocking on a door, then squeaking as a door opened, and a small ‘Aha!’ by a voice she recognized to be Adrien’s.

She walk-ran her way to where they were, and in seconds she was there. Adrien had held Liam by the armpit just like how he did a mere half-hour ago, except they were facing each other now.

“Let me go! Ladybug and Chat Nowr are out to get me!” Liam kicked and flailed out of his brother’s grasp, the toy he held slipping out of his grasp in the process. He dropped to the ground on his feet with a loud thud. Before he could escape, however, Adrien had grabbed hold of his arm. “Ah, ah, ah, not so fast.”

Marinette watched the scene unfold, still unnoticed by the two. One thing she noticed, though, was that _Adrien’s wearing glasses holy shi-_  

The currently four-eyed blond took a deep breath, arms crossed above his chest. “Sprout, stop running from your babysitters, please? You don’t want to give sweet Marinette a hard time, don’t ‘cha?”

The girl from the other side of the hall could hear every word, despite the soft timbre of his voice as he urged the kid to behave. She watched how the small boy shook his head a ‘no’.

She decided to speak up without deciding what to say. “You won’t get any ice cream if you keep running away.” And with that, she knew she minor fucked up.

Both brothers turned to her direction, the older one’s eyes wide behind his spectacles. And oh my god did they fit him so well. The younger had his lips in a wide smile.

“W-we don’t have any ice cream. You mean you’re going out?”

 _No_.”Yes.”

Marinette internally worried for her wallet.

 

☂☂☂

 

And that was how Marinette found herself sitting at a table inside a gelato parlor with a three-year old. Yes, gelato, because the next ice cream shop was another three blocks away and this was the closest from the mansion. No matter, he won't know the difference, she mentally said.

"What's gelato?" said Liam on his first step in the shop, his babysitter guiding him as she held his hand.

Marinette's brain scrambled for an answer. Of course they'd give the kid the fatty kind, duh. "It's ice cream, but better." No it's not. 

Surprisingly, the boy did not pry her with follow-up questions afterwards; instead, he turned his attention to the interior designing of the small shop.

How about her wallet, you ask? Well... (a flashback from fifteen minutes ago resurfaces)

She casually leaned against the wall beside his bedroom door. “Look, you’re studying, right? Then yes, anything to get Liam out of your hair.”

‘Fuck you, Marinette. It’s just one simple word and two simple letters, you ass.’

Her inner voice was being awfully vulgar today. However, it did have a point, and she hated it. 

Adrien looked up at her, still crouched down. “I really don’t want you to spend your money. I’m the one asking for a favo-“

“Shush,” Marinette shushed him with a hand pushed inches away from his face. "Look at the boy, he wants ice cream. You wouldn't want him deprived of his favorite treat won't you?”

Adrien exchanged glances between the girl and Liam, who was beaming puppy eyes at him. Yes, he was the one assigned to take care of the boy, but risk failing an important test? Yeah, probably. But technically, he did pass the job onto Marinette. _Damn those puppy eyes_. “Okay, okay, but you’re gonna have to pay with my money. I don’t want to risk emptying your wallet,” he said as he fished his wallet from his jean pockets and searched through its contents before handing her a hundred. “Here.”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “I-isn’t that too much? Ice cream costs about 1 euro, y’know.” 

“You’d be lucky if he doesn’t drag you to other stores, so just trust me on this one.” The tall blond who now stood in front of her smiled.

She thought for second before she said, “Fine.” She took the bill from his hands, folded it into a neat square and slid it inside her jean pockets. “But just so you know, I have enough money in my purse.”

The one when she said she had enough money in her purse? Lies. All lies.

Marinette tried to recall since when her life had become so dire, when she started finding herself in situations she deemed awful and would put her to shame, when she got into positions she never expected her to get into. Then she recalled the first day she met Adrien (which was also the day she became Ladybug) and the embarrassing moments from then on resurfaced. She let out a quiet groan. 'Keep your shit together, Marinette.'

Then as if two miniature versions of her sat on each of her shoulders, one dressed like an angel and the other a devil, telling her what to do in between talking back to each other.

"Poor child, calm down! Why is your inner voice such a potty mouth today?" said Angel Mari.

"Can't you see? She's distressed and Alya's rubbed off on her!" Devil Mari turned to human her. "Say, how about you ditch the kid and say he got kidnapped for ransom?"

Angel Mari flew up to her nose. "Dear, don't let your past get to you. Adrien never minded them, did he?" No, she thought.

Marinette wonders if she had gone crazy.

'Must've been the stress.'

Just then, Liam's voice pulled her back from her thoughts, the miniature versions of her nowhere to be found. She shook her head to make sure she wasn't seeing anymore weird things.

"Did you know that big brother has a crush on Ladybug?" he said as he scavenged his way down through the cup of non-fatty chocolate-flavored frosted cream. 

The fact that Adrien has a crush on Ladybug did not shock her. No, it was one she already knew about the blond. But the fact that this kid, who's a three-year old, even knew what a crush was what did.  

She chuckled at the question. If not for the obvious jumpiness when Ladybug was around and the action figures, she probably wouldn't have known (save from that one time she snuck in his room and saw his screensaver and a bookmark to the Ladyblog). "Yep."

Liam grinned widely, but said no more pertaining the topic. "This is better than any ice cream I've evuh tasted!" he said as he took in another spoonful.  

She glanced back at her empty cup and fished her phone from her pockets, as she looked for the time. 4:29 pm, it said.

Time went on and little conversations were snuck in between them, with Liam struggling to pronounce the words right as he told stories of how he saved the town from an evil one-eyed monster before he talked about how much he wanted to grow up like his older brother someday.

Marinette beams at the three-year old’s keenness.

And a few minutes later, she found herself being dragged by hand to a nearby arcade.

She came face-to-face with a cashier as she held Liam hand-in-hand. 

The person behind the cashier, who was a tattooed punk teen that chewed her gum too loudly eyed her suspiciously, as if judging her through the glass window like Gabriel's new assistant. Marinette consciously withered, suddenly having the urge to slap the cashier's gaze away from her. Why she was looking at her that way she had no idea why. 

Marinette spoke, the teen's looks becoming too uncomfortable. "Uh...tokens, please."

 

☂☂☂

 

Adrien sighed in relief before he let out a frustrated groan, knowing he had done his part in reviewing, but remembered he had entrusted his assignment from his father to Marinette.

Truthfully, his little brother wasn't all that bad. Actually, not bad at all, just that the boy had a huge thing for new toys. However, babysitting children outdoors nevertheless was a hard task even for someone like her. Well, at least he thought it was.

Adrien glanced at his watch, learning he had finished earlier than expected. Suddenly, he was back to his distressed state despite finishing everything he had to do.

He rose from his chair and walked back and forth, left to right in front of his desk as he contemplated a few things that might've happened to the two, brows furrowed and his chin held between his fingers.

He worried Liam might've dragged her into a toy store and horded a cart with everything he wanted. He worried that Marinette had a hard time catching up to the boy. He worried that- wait, what if Liam wandered off into some place and–

"Hey blondie, blue eyes and little bro are back," Plagg says as he flies past him, surprisingly not munching on a piece of camembert.

"Not now Plagg, I'm busy thi– who's back?"

The cat kwami groaned. "Strange pretty lady and adorable little br–" Plagg got cut off by the sound of the door being closed shut as Adrien dashed out before he even finished what he was going to say. He sighs yet again. "Humans."

"Marinette! How's..." Adrien stopped at the head of the stairs as the two entered the main double doors of the mansion, he caught a glimpse of the dark after dusk sky just before the doors closed.

Marinette’s left arm was looped around a large elephant stuff toy that caught his attention.

"...And that's how I helped Ladybug and Chat Noir defeat The Evillustrator," he heard Marinette say, hand-in-hand with the boy on her right.

The Evillustrator? The name left a familiar taste in his mouth.

Ah, Nathanael, he recalls. He, too, remembers that day. It was when he first met Marinette as Chat Noir. It was when he realized how brave and confident she was when she wasn't stuttering and slurring on her words, that she only seemed to do in front of him, but that was in the past.

"Woah! You're so aweshome, Marinette! Can you be my big sister?" Liam exclaimed as he held onto an ice cream cone.

Marinette’s chuckle echoed through the main foyer. "Anything you want me to be." She turned her gaze north, spotting Adrien as he made his way down the stairs. "Adrien!"

 Liam looked at the tall blond. "Big brother!" He retrieved his hand from Marinette's hold and dashed his way to his big brother, still held onto the ice cream cone.

"Hey there, sprout!" Adrien, now at the foot of the stairs, captured Liam and hoisted him up in his arms.

"Big brother, you should've seen Marinette win those tickets! We got like... a whole dozen of 'em," the boy exclaimed, sizing up how many tickets they got in the air.

"Ah, so she took you to an arcade?"

"More like he dragged me to an arcade," Marinette said stepping in a few steps close. Adrien chuckled.

"I told you a hundred would've come in handy." He looked at the plushie, puckered his lips in its direction. "That for Liam?"

"Yes! I picked it with the tickets we got!" The boy never ran out of excitement, I tell you.

"Go tell her thank you," the blond whispered to his brother. And in a few seconds later, Liam was out of his grasp and making his way to his companion for the past two hours, Adrien held his half-eaten ice cream cone for him.

Marinette crouched down to his level and handed the stuffed toy, the boy accepting the gift.

"Thank you, big sister!" he said, snuggling tight against his present.

The bluenette pinched his cheeks and beamed a sincere smile at him. "You're very much welcome."

Liam put his elephant stuff toy down, leaned in and wound his arms around Marinette’s shoulders. She blinked before reciprocating the hug, turning her gaze on a smiling Adrien. 

The boy let go, picked up his toy, and dashed up the stairs giggling, probably going to where his room was. The ice cream cone long-forgotten.

She kept her gaze on the boy's retreating back before Adrien spoke up. "He likes you a lot," he said, a hand tucked in his pocket. 

She smiled and rose up to her full height. "What time is it?"

"Oh, uh.." The blond checked his watch (which was probably more expensive than half of her wardrobe). "Half hour 'til seven. Uh... I guess you have to go now?" 

She nodded. "Yep," she said and began walking towards the door before she got herself into another awkward situation. Adrien walked along with her.

He opened the door for her and she stepped outside. 

"So...this is goodbye?"

Adrien put a hand behind the nape of his neck. "I suppose it is."

Nobody spoke for a moment, nobody kept their gazes locked, just looking back and forth between their surroundings. 'So much for getting into any more awkward situations,' she thought. 

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

And with that, she turned her back to him, not forgetting to give him a sincere smile before she did so. 

Adrien watched the light from the inside of the mansion thin in as he pushed the door to close, but a realization forbid him to continue doing so and opened the door once more, the bar of light thickened. "I almost forgot - thank you so much!" 

Marinette turned around and waved. "No problem!" 

With that, he closed the door again, not forgetting to give her a gorgeous smile before he did so. He heaved a deep sigh when it was closed for good. He slowly made his way up the stairs as he ate the remaining of the ice cream, through the left wing where his brother's room was.

The boy was playing superhero with an action figure and the large elephant, which was literally as big as him, as the evil villain.

"Woooosh! I'll beat you up, Mr. Elephant! Pew, pew!"

Adrien chuckled. "I thought you liked action figures and toy cars?" 

Liam turned to his big brother who was at the door and blinked twice. "Well, I like elephants too now."

 

☂☂☂

 

The door closes once more. the light thinning, but Marinette didn't fail to capture the blond's smile before it closed for good. 

She stood there and heaved a loud sigh before turning around once more towards the gate. "Haaa..." She felt like walking her way to her apartment, and so she did, just feeling the breeze of the cold Parisian night as she went. She took this time to hark back to their short adventure, how she found out she was awesome at shooting hoops at basketball, how Liam almost cried because he was too young to ride on a bumper car, how he struggled to carry all 697 tickets (she earned it after an hour of hard playing and multiple token and ticket packs bought) so she took them instead, and how some people stopped to say how adorable Liam was. A thought came to mind that they probably thought she was his mother, and just shrugged her shoulders.

If she hadn't thought deeper, she wouldn't have noticed that the boy was awfully well-behaved  the whole time in contrast to her expectations. He wasn't all that rowdy, just enthusiastic. She was expecting some son of a world-famous designer and former model to get lost in a crowd and childhood crush (who was lost son’s big half brother and her friend) shunning her for life. Thankfully, Liam just knew how to follow rules when given to him. 

The boy was so adorable, she had to fight the urge to pinch him hard in the cheeks. Marinette didn't fail to notice the way his dark blue eyes twinkled as he talked about how much he idolized his big brother. She has never seen so much passion in someone so young before. 

Her phone rang in her pockets, pulling her back to reality. She looked at where she was and didn't even realize she was already in front of her apartment complex. She walked in as she fished her phone from her pockets. 1 message received, it told her. She opened the message just as she entered the elevator and pressed 3.

She looked at the contact id. _Adrien_.   

'I hope you won't be busy but Liam's birthday is in two weeks & he really likes you, sooo....can you?'

Marinette smiled just as the elevator doors opened at her floor. _Of course she will,_ and she's already thought of a present. 

 

☂☂☂

 

Some nights were loud, some nights were quiet, and some were too busy. This particular night was one of the quiet ones; nights when they just sat and talked, sometimes they didn't and just sat quietly beside each other, some hands intertwined as they watched the city that continued to live and breathe before them. This was the city that was theirs, the city that gave themselves to them, the city whose safety laid in their hands. This was city they had been protecting for the past five years, one she had been doing with the same black-clad partner she's had for the same amount of years.

She couldn't ask for more.  

"Chaton," Marinette - well, Ladybug called as she rested her head on her partner, _her_ boyfriend's costumed shoulder

"Yes, my lady?"

She paused for a while, hoping he'd agree to go. She wouldn't want to disappoint the boy.

Chat knew she'd speak up in a few moments. She always did. 

 

 

"There's this really adorable three-year old boy who idolizes us and his birthday is coming soon..."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really sure if everything is in correctly, aha. I didn't back read. 3 am laziness forbid me from doing so. My apologies for a lazily-written chapter. Again.
> 
> Feel free to leave comments!


	4. Fourth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Swearing and implied sexual content coming up, but don't assume that there will be smut 'cause the latter is supposed to be funny.

Adrien had it all too well.

For the past five years, he has never been this close to finding out Ladybug’s civilian identity. Not that he ever tried finding out after year three in their five-year partnership. She did her in herself and she didn’t even know.

He was so sure his curiosity died down mere year and a half ago.

☂☂☂

“There’s this really adorable little boy who really idolizes us and his birthday is coming up soon...” she started, a bit of hesitance in her tone.

A few seconds pass. Her eyes are set on the gorgeously lit metropolis. Her lips are parted but she doesn’t talk. He could hear her breathing deeply.

Chat crossed his arms against his chest, as she didn’t continue. “And...?”

Ladybug blinked, jumping from the surprise as she was suddenly slapped back to reality with his voice. “Oh, uh, if you don’t mind can we...?”

He raised a brow at her and nodded slowly, catching her point. “I take it you want to surprise this little boy?”

“Yes!” she hollered at the speed of light, keyed up to the fact that he got what she was trying to say before she even said it so herself. She blinked twice. Perhaps she was a beat too early? “I mean, yes. He’s really, really adorable and he’s already back so enthusiastic and passionate for a three year-old.”

Enthusiastic three year-old? The model behind the black mask couldn’t help but be reminded of their own three year-old at the mansion.

Chat Noir hummed in response, his legs dangling from the edge of the Eiffel Tower’s support beam they sat on. “So what’s the name of this adorable three year-old?”

“Well, you’ve probably heard of his name somewhere.”

“The kid’s famous?” he asked, eyes on her.

She hummed. “Kinda, but his whole family is.”

His brows furrowed, the idea of a well-known family in Paris suddenly becoming so familiar in his mouth. A hasty flow of interest and curiosity wallowed in his mind. 

“So,” Chat said, drawling the ‘o’. “What is his name?”

Ladybug seemed to hesitate for a second before she spoke. “William Agreste.”

And in that second, the Adrien behind Chat Noir’s mask froze, staring at an invisible point across the environment. William Agreste, a name far too recognizable in his ears. Ladybug knew William Agreste; his Ladybug knew William Agreste. William Agreste is his brother. His Ladybug fucking knew his brother. It refused to sink in despite the many times he repeated the words in his head as though they were mantras.

“I know you’ve heard that surname somewhere, obviously. It’s just, he really looks up to us and...”

She was talking. He was frozen. She was talking and he heard every word but he wasn’t listening at the same time. They were words but to his brain, they were just sounds his mind couldn’t process. How could Ladybug know his brother?

And as though the world hadn’t crushed him to bits a mere ten seconds ago, another thought came to mind.

‘My own brother knows the civilian under Ladybug’s mask. My own brother, who has no idea his big brother, me, is one-half of Paris’ superheroes.’

She continued talking; unaware of flabbergasted expression her boyfriend is pulling. “...and the boy’s so well-beha–“

“Where did you meet him?” he asked, a bit surprised at how it came out as a natural question despite the unresting adrenaline in his body, crawling up to his arms and flowing up his shoulders.

“Oh, uh,” Ladybug had a hand on her nape and her eyes avoided looking at his. “I met him at the mall, while he and his mom were probably shopping for some toys.”

“How?”

“H-he was running around with a Ladybug action figure, he tripped and...And I helped him up and I asked him about the toy, blah blah blah, then he told me about his birthday and his mom came – I was so star struck at Clarise! Turns out she lost him and he was talking to me about how much he wanted to see Ladybug and Chat Noir – us, for at least five minutes and...yeah.”

He looked at her with wide eyes, almost in disbelief at how reluctant her tone was and how comprehensive the story was. But, how else would she run into the boy? His stepmother did mention losing the boy in a mall and a few moments later found him with a kind, young lady.

He shuddered at the thought that perhaps the young lady was Ladybug in her civilian identity; she was mentioned to him and he didn’t even know!                                  

“Sure.”

Ladybug looked at him bemused. “What?”

“Let’s go,” he said with a trademark smirk as he tried his best not to shout.

Her eyes lit up in appreciation, perhaps from gratitude. “Thank you!” And milliseconds later she had her arms around him, her lips brushing softly against his cheek, parting a bit to say “Thank you so much” in his ear.

Chat Noir chuckled, his own arms winding themselves around her narrow waist and he whispered, “I love you too.”

Their usual banters soon followed after, filling the night in its silent ambience with their hysterical crackling and endless conversations before they decided to call it a night and ended the patrol with a kiss.

On the cheek.

Because Ladybug liked playing games and had turned her head to the side before he could capture her lips before she left.

☂☂☂

Chat Noir was back at his apartment. With the final beep of his ring, the familiar green light engulfed him and Adrien was back. He was quivering in excitement. He was jumpy. He sat on a couch, everyone would’ve thought he was just tired, but in reality he had to fight the urge to follow Ladybug to her home once she had leaped into the night.

Actually, yes, he was tired.

She almost did her in.

Slowly, he lay on the couch, eyes still wide and focused on an invisible point across the room.

She was so close yet she was so far.

“Are you holding on okay there, bud?” Plagg flew in, surprisingly not munching on a piece of camembert that was probably already resting in the kwami’s stomach.

Adrien shook his head against the soft pillow on the couch. “I don’t think it already sunk in, Plagg.”

“Trust me. It never will.”

The kwami was back to the kitchen, and he was back to his distress.

It was 11:36. They had started at nine. The patrol took much longer than expected.

A few dishes were left unwashed, but he wasn’t sure if he had the will to do them. He did anyway, and was relieved at how he managed not to break them.

He was expecting to be calm when situations like this started afloat, for they were going to find out eventually anyway. Apparently, some things never really add up to expectations for so many reasons.

He washed up, brushed his teeth, was ready for bed, but the thought never flushed away even when he had already been lying on his divan for the last half hour, turning and curling against his pillows in hopes to put his mind to rest.

Plagg was snoring, but the blond was sure it wasn’t that that was keeping him awake.

_My brother knows Ladybug’s civilian self._

Adrien wasn’t able to sleep that night.

☂☂☂

Funny enough, the world was too big for him and it took him a while to register that even though his world was vast and too spacious for his liking, it was still small in the same inch. After all, civilian Ladybug, who is also his girlfriend whose identity he does not know of, knew his little brother and interacted with him and she’s so close yet so far and goodness this is too much to take in.

☂☂☂

Marinette weighed slightly on her duvet, pulling the covers over her head as the alarm on her bedside rang. A hand reached up to put it on snooze. “Five more...minutes,” she grumbles.

No more than a minute later, however, her phone started ringing. The past ringtone of Ghost by Mystery Skulls changed into a much more upbeat song, waking her in the process.

She furrowed her brows and grumpily grabbed her phone just beside her alarm clock on the bedside, not even checking the caller id.

“Err...Hello?”

“MARI!”

The call was tuned to loudspeaker, and it didn’t help that it was set to the highest volume, startling her from her once lethargic state and she almost dropped her phone. She yelped in surprise. She glanced at her kwami on the left of her bedside, grateful that the little goddess wasn’t startled awake.

“Did I shock you with my beauty again? Not surprised. Okay, anyway-“

The bluenette frowned and cut the caller off. “Alya!” she started. “Why on earth would you call me at such ungodly hour in the morning?”

“What do you mean by ungodly? Darling, it’s already seven in the morning. Wake up, hun,” Alya reminds her, a bit of sass in her tone. Like always.

“Seven in the morning is ungodly for I, whom for your information am not a morning person,” the dark-haired girl said, lying back on against her mountain of pillows.

“Yeah, okay, whatever.”

Marinette could practically feel her best friend rolling her eyes through the phone, if that was even possible.

“Should I remind you that you haven’t answered my question, the reason you so had to call me the single day I have no classes on?”

“Oh, yeah! About that,” Alya started, objects being moved about heard from the other side of the call. “I heard you babysat Liam. Y’know, Agreste child.”

Marinette’s mind quickly flew over to the memories of that day, which was about a week ago. It didn’t really surprise her that Alya knew, though she forgot to tell about it to her. It was more shocking that she was a week late, honestly. Normally her best friend found out hours after anything ever happened.

“Oh, that one? Yeah, you’re a week late.”

“Just answer my question.”

“You haven’t asked any questions.”

The bespectacled half fell into fits of laughter through the other side. Her own mouth curled into a smile, but not into chuckles.

Alya hummed. “Okay, Mari, cut it. Remember when you called Adrien sexy in front of him?”

Marinette flushed, suddenly remembering that the last time she was reminded of that awful incident was just a week ago, when she was walking through the halls of the Agreste mansion. “That was one time!”

“Okay, so you _do_ remember.”

“It’s not like I could escape from that high school hell hole.”

Alya chuckled again, softer this time. “Talk to me, child.”

And then, her alarm went off. Marinette internally groans, reaching a hand out to turn it off. “Okay, Liam is hella adorable.”

“Duh,“ her friend replies, knowing the fact that the child was adorable had been established already the moment Adrien showed them his photographs. “I’m asking info about how the day was.”

Marinette hummed, trying to recall the events of that one day. “Adrien called me to look after Liam because apparently he was told by his father to babysit the boy, but entrusted the duty to me because of his tight activities for university. I gladly accepted because I had nothing else to do anyway,” she stopped short, wondering if Alya was still there.

When the bespectacled friend caught up with her silence, she hummed in confirmation. “I’m still here, go on.”

“Err, so I met Liam and darn, remember when Adrien showed us a picture of him as a toddler and then Liam’s? The similarities are so uncanny. Couldn’t deny good genes. He’s also a fan of Ladybug and Chat Noir, aha. Then I took the boy out for gelato and then we went to an arcade and...yeah.”

Alya didn’t respond quite immediately. Neither of them spoke. Marinette wondered if she had been talking gibberish over the phone. When her best friend stayed quiet, the bluenette then broke the silence.

“Hey, are you still there?”

“Oh, of course I am. Just...”

“Just what?” Marinette quirked an eyebrow in suspicion.  

 A sigh escaped from her best friend’s mouth. “I was kinda waiting for something between you and Adrien.”

It was Marinette’s turn to sigh. “Alya, you know I’m dating someone, and so is Adrien.”

“Mari, I’m sorry, but it’s been about a year since you told me and I still haven’t gotten any information except that it’s a guy. That goes the same for Adrien, too. I really thought you’d tell me long ago, but I started thinking that maybe there isn’t really a guy. I know it’s your decision, but-“

“I just want you to be happy, yes. I love you so much, but I promise the dude’s real. Just...give me some time. It’s been a year and I’m still trying to hold back on revealing everything to you, but it’s just really complicated. Alya, I’m so sorry my love life is bugging you out. I love you too much to put you in that much stress over something that’s happening to me, but please don’t worry.”

Her best friend was there but she wasn’t speaking, neither did Marinette hear any shuffling from the other line. But Alya was still there and she knew it.

“You...you really promise?” Alya softly mutters, sass and rock-hard confidence absent in her tone. It was like Marinette was talking to a different person.

“I promise. You don’t have to w- wait, are you crying there?!” Marinette asked, half in surprised and half in amusement when soft sniffs were heard over the phone.

“Hell no! I just have a cold today, is all,” she replied a little too defensively, but not even to cover how she feigned the confidence.

The bluenette nodded, a sincere smile upon her lips. “Uh-huh, don’t worry. I won’t tell Nino.”

It took five seconds before Alya responded. “You better not.”

☂☂☂

The days passed quickly and in a blink of an eye, it was already two days away from Liam’s birthday. Marinette had definitely kept note on using Alya’s crying incident over the phone as blackmail, knowing the sassy brunette didn’t cry often. She’d been the only person to witness her bawl more than twice, not even Nino. What an honor, Marinette once commented.

When she had asked whether Alya was already reminded of the boy’s birthday party coming up, Marinette had been confirmed that yes, she knew and it was Adrien who had invited her and Nino.

Speaking of the blond, he hadn’t called since. Not that she was expecting him to do so, but knowing that she grew a closer connection to him through his brother, maybe he could’ve thought about telling her whether the three-year old missed her or something. But that was in her wildest dreams.

It certainly would’ve been nice if she knew about the boy’s state as of now. She really missed those rosy cheeks she was unable to pinch.

“My Lady?”

The mention of her favourite nickname woke her from the stance.

“Yeah?” she turns to Chat, who had a finger pointing to his own human ear.

Then she realized her miraculous was going off and it was time to leave.

“Oh,” Ladybug could only say before standing up and giving him a peck on the cheek.

Chat frowned. “Really? Just the cheek?”

Ladybug chuckled and it was a melody to his ears. “Good night, chaton,” she bid before leaping off into the night, leaving him to grin to himself.

Tikki immediately fell asleep on her pillow after tiny ‘goodnight, Mari’. The moment she fell on her bed with a thump, Marinette received a message from Adrien, which was a surprise.

Okay, to be specific, it was a voice message.

Four seconds into the eleven-second long voice message, she threw her head back in fits of laughter. It had been Liam snoring and muttering things into his sleep. ‘I have beaten Evil Potato. I am a bettuh supuhero than Chat Nowr and Wadybug now’ was all he had said but it was too adorable and it made her night.   

Marinette typed in a reply, starting with two laugh emojis. No question that the blond was in the mansion and not in his own apartment, so she didn’t need to ask.

‘ _I wouldn’t have wanted you as a big brother_ ’

His reply almost came instantly.

‘ _what are you talking about? Liam totally loves me as a big brother_ ’

She thought of a reply, typing and then erasing for about three times before settling with the last one.

‘ _Just wait til he grows up_ ’

Not even a minute later and her phone vibrates in a response.

‘ _wow, Marinette. I once thought you were one of the kindest people I’ve met_ ’

She unconsciously grins to herself.

‘ _Darn you type really fast. Do you have magic fingers or something_?’

Marinette clicked send, disregarding his playful message. A few seconds later and her phone vibrated once more.

Her eyes widened and she felt the blood rush to her cheeks, fingers unable to type a response to his new message.

☂☂☂

Two minutes had passed and Marinette hadn’t replied. Maybe she fell asleep? The check mark below his message reminded him she had read it. Her lack of a response made Adrien wonder, so he read his message again.

‘ _haha, you’d be surprised with how much magic I could do with these fingers_ ’

And that’s when he realized how much fucking up he had done with one message. His face immediately went beet red, eyes wide and fingers frantically typing out a—no, multiple replies.

‘ _OH MY GOD, MARI I’M SO SOTRY I DIDN’T MEAN TO SAY THAT I MEANT WITH THE PIANO OR SOMETHING_ ’  

_‘IM NOET A PERVEFT JUST REALLY STUPWID IS ALL’_

‘ _I DIDNT MEAN TEH DOUBLE MEANING PLS DONT AVOID ME OR SOMETHING_ ’

“Fuck,” he muttered roughly, running his hands across his still-red face, still no doubt embarrassed.

Plagg immediately flew to his side. “What’s going on?” His chosen did not answer, covering his face with both hands, but it was evident that he was incredibly flustered.

The cat kwami hovered over the phone now sitting just beside Adrien and read whatever could have made his chosen fall into such miserable state. No more than five seconds later, Plagg had his eyes closed and his tiny paws around his stomach as he broke into loud fits of laughter. He spoke between chortles and he seemed to struggle. “Congratulations, star child! You just gave Marinette Dupain-Cheng the impression of a fuck boy! HAHAHA!”

The blond didn’t think he could get any redder. Locking himself in the bathroom, unable to take Plagg’s nonstop laughter, he began typing another reply.

_‘I’d completely understand if you wouldn’t want to talk to me again but are you still going to the party? ;-; i’m still really sorry’_

 ☂☂☂

Marinette had locked herself in the solitude of her bathroom, worrying that she might wake her precious kwami with her unexplainable chortling. She was still laughing, her stomach had began twisting moments ago, but she couldn’t stop the joyous reverie for a short-term stomach ache from laughing too hard.

Adrien’s recent message was not in all-caps now, and it was devoid of any typos unlike the last three he had sent. She could imagine his beet red face in embarrassment and wondered how amusing he looked incredibly flustered, suddenly realizing that she hasn’t seen this part of him before. Not even once. Nino surely had, but not her or Alya.

‘ _Adrien, HAHAHAHA MY STOMACH HURTS SO BAD RIGHT NOW. YOU ALMOST THREW ME OFF RIGHT THERE. We’re still friends, don’t worry, and I’m still going to the party. Pls don’t cry’_

She hit send right after adding three laugh emojis at the end. She didn’t wait for his reply, instead shut her phone down and went back to bed, making sure to brush her teeth before she did so, and took a moment to laugh before falling into slumber.

☂☂☂

Marinette awoke at around five the morning after, feeling parched and slowly treaded to the small kitchen of her apartment, grabbed herself a glass of water and went back to her room. The light of her phone woke her senses as she turned it on. The notifications show Adrien had sent her three messages hours before.

_‘ok, but I’m still really apologetic. Thank you for being kind’_

_‘please don’t use that as blackmail’_

The last one came about three hours after that, meaning he had sent it at about past midnight.

_‘remember when you accidentally called me sexy all those years ago?’_

“Oh my fucking hell.” Karma was fast. Maybe she shouldn’t had laughed at him so hard?

 _‘WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP REMINDING ME OF THAT INCIDENT_ ’

Her phone vibrated and she hadn’t expected him to reply, nor did she expect him to be awake at such early hour in the morning.

‘ _:D’_

Marinette dug her face into her pillow, lying on her stomach, and forced herself to sleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last update was May and it's October now. I have no consistency.
> 
> I also hate how I wrote this (the whole fic, actually) but I refuse to give up on the updates, ahhh.


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